MMA Members

Mahwah Municipal Alliance Members

MMA Board of Directors

Carolyn Blake - President

Todd Van Duren

Joan Stewart

Valerie Tzaneteas

Liz Skrod

Deb Kourgelis

Chris Howard

Executive Advisory Council

Jim Batelli

Chief Stephen Jaffe

Member Bios

Carolyn Blake

Carolyn Blake has lived in Mahwah for the past 20 years and has been a member of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance Board of Directors since 2006. She is also actively involved in Mahwah’s youth sports programs including serving as Program Administrator for the Youth Lacrosse Program of the Township of Mahwah Youth Sports Boosters since 2002. In addition, Ms. Blake has been an Executive HSO Board member for the Ramapo Ridge Middle School and the Joyce Kilmer School in Mahwah. She is a graduate of Ramapo College and earned a Masters in Business Administration from Manhattan College. Professionally, Ms. Blake is currently the Business Development Director for CASME Market Focus and she has held various management and sales positions at Hewlett Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Dowden Custom Media. She has also served as an adjunct professor teaching courses in marketing and sales management at Ramapo College, Manhattan College and Berkeley College.

James Batelli

Chief James Batelli joined the Mahwah Police Department as a patrol officer in 1978 and rose through the ranks of the Patrol Division to become Chief of Police in February 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Mercy College, a Master of Arts degree from Rutgers University, and completed all class work requirements (ABD) for his Ph.D dissertation from CUNY John Jay College. He also graduated from the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development School (LEEDS). Under the direction off Chief Batelli the Mahwah Police Department received international accreditation through the Commission on Law Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and continues to be one of the select law enforcement agencies in the nation to hold that status. Chief Batelli has also taught as an adjunct professor at Ramapo College and reviews and provides evaluations of criminal justice textbooks for national publishers. Chief Batelli is an ACTAR certified accident reconstruction, a designation held by less than 1,000 law enforcement professional and engineers in the nation. Chief Batelli resides in Mahwah with his wife and two daughters.

Chris Howard

Chris Howard is a life-long resident of Mahwah and has an extensive history of serving the community. Aside from his duties on the Board of Directors of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance where he has been member since 2010, Mr. Howard has been a fireman and rescue technician since 1997 and an EMT for Mahwah Co. 1 since 1992. Mr. Howard is currently the President of HowCom Technologies which provides complete system solution needs for the SMB market. He also currently holds the position of Global Procurement Business Manager at Pearson Education. Prior to this, he was a sales manager at Howard and Associates providing insurance and executive compensation plans in the Tri-State area. Mr. Howard is a graduate of Ramapo College and is currently working toward a Masters in Business Administration at Rutgers University.

Stephen Jaffe

Captain Stephen Jaffe has been a resident of Mahwah for almost 20 years serving the community in numerous roles. Aside from his position on the Board of Directors of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance since 2006, he is an active participant in the Mahwah youth sports programs including serving as coach for football, softball, basketball, soccer and Mahwah Police DARE street hockey. Capt. Jaffe is also on the Advisory Board for Velocity Sports Performance in Mahwah and a member of the Knights of Columbus, 3rdDegree member. As a captain in the Mahwah Police Department, he currently holds the position of Commander of the Investigative, Juvenile and Special Services Division. Capt. Jaffe is also the Commanding Officer of Urban Area Security Initiative U.A.S.I. Bergen County Rapid Deployment Team. He is a graduate of Pace University and earned a Master of Arts in Education from Seton Hall University. Capt. Jaffe is also a graduate of the F.B.I National Academy and of the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development School.

Valerie Tzaneteas

Valerie Tzaneteas has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance since 2010 and has been a resident of Mahwah since 1989. Aside from her contributions to the MMA, Mrs. Tzaneteas has been an activecommunity volunteer including serving as Chair and member of numerous committees of the Home School Organization in the Mahwah school system. In addition, she has served as coordinator for various youth sports in Mahwah including the Mahwah Raiders soccer club. Professionally, Mrs. Tzaneteas is a graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas College with a B.S. degree in Business Administration and has held various management positions with Macy’s, Volvo of North America, and Aegon, Inc. She is currently employed as a paraprofessional at Lenape Meadows School in Mahwah.

Todd VanDuren

Owner of Ramsey Auto Group and a Mahwah resident

Joan Stewart

Joan is a Student Assistance Counselor at Mahwah High School who graduated from St. Olaf College with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. She received a Master’s Degree from Montclair State University in Counseling with a concentration in Group Therapy. Joan is certified as a: Student Assistance Counselor & Active Parenting Specialist. Joan has been a Student Assistance Counselor since 1990.

Liz Skrod

Liz Skrod has enjoyed being a resident of Mahwah for 18 years. She has held Executive Board positions in the Mahwah School HSOs for the past 8 years. She has served on the Executive Board at George Washington, Joyce Kilmer and Ramapo Ridge. She has also chaired and served on many committees at each of these schools. Liz has also served for 5 years on the Mahwah Schools Foundation, including 3 years on the Executive Board. Other volunteer activities include: Executive Board of Cub Scout Pack 197, Mahwah Raiders parent coordinator, and Mahwah County Committee Representative. Liz grew up in Maine and graduated with a BS in Business Administration from the University of Maine. Her career brought her to NJ and ultimately to NYC where she became a VP in Risk Management Consulting at Marsh & McLennan.

Deb Kourgelis

Deb has lived in Mahwah for 24 years and has been a member of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance for almost two years. She received her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Fordham University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Deb is in private practice, is currently Clinical Director at an outpatient substance abuse facility, and is a Trauma Response Clinician Team Member sent to Bergen County schools when there is a traumatic event. Over the years in Mahwah, Deb has served on the HSO Executive Board as Vice-President for four years at Lenape Meadows and Commodore Perry schools, as well as various other committees.